David Shire
David Shire ( born July 3, 1937 in Buffalo, New York) is an American Jewish composer of numerous films ( cinema and television) as well as musicals.
Career
Shire began his film music career in the sixties while watching TV. The early seventies, he managed the change to the movie. When his most important film music is The Conversation ( 1974) by Francis Ford Coppola - Shires former brother in law. The music is written primarily for solo piano and also contains some sound distortions. In this, his most fertile decade Shire delivered a series full effect works particularly thematically proved to be very catchy. Under lovers here is the aggressive jazzy score the Death Ride the Subway (1974 The Taking of Pelham 123 ) developed to Stop 123 for a special favorite. The importance of this work can also be seen in the fact that Chris Boardman (not to be confused with the cyclist ) significant stylistic features of the music for the Mel Gibson thriller Payback - Payday ( Payback, 1999) copied.
Other characteristic works from the 1970s and 80s are The Hindenburg ( The Hindenburg, 1975), Farewell, My Lovely ( 1975) and finally Oz - Once Upon a Forest ( Return to Oz, 1985). Because of the catastrophic economic failure that Wizard-of -Oz sequel was their elaborately crafted score only little attention.
From the mid- 1980s Shires career started to tail off, and he focused increasingly on the work for television. In 2007, he celebrated a cinema comeback with the frugal original music for David Fincher thriller Zodiac - The trail of the killer.
Shire's songs have been recorded by Barbra Streisand, Melissa Manchester, Maureen McGovern, Johnny Mathis, Billy Preston, Jennifer Warnes, John Pizzerelli, Pearl Bailey and many more.
Shire was married to actress Talia Shire from 1970 to 1978. Since 1982, he is married to Didi Conn. He has two sons, Matthew ( with Talia Shire ) and Daniel ( with Didi Conn ).
Works (selection)
Movies & Television
On Broadway
- The Unknown Soldier and His Wife (1967, drama, music)
- Baby (1983, Music, Musical, Tony Nomination for Best Music )
- Big (1996, Music, Musical, Tony nomination for Best Musical, Drama Desk nomination for outstanding music)
- Saturday Night Fever (1999, Musical, songwriter of " Manhattan Skyline", "Salsa -tion " and "Night on Disco Mountain" )
Off-Broadway
- Starting Here, Starting Now (1975, Revue, Music )
- Urban Blight ( Review, Music )
- Closer Than Ever ( Review, Music )
- The Loman Family Picnic ( play, music and songs with lyrics by Donald Margulis, author of the piece )
- Smulnik 's Waltz ( drama, music)
Songs
- With You I'm Born Again ( lyrics by Carol Connors; international chart hit by Billy Preston and Syreeta )
- Starting Here, Starting Now (Text by Richard Maltby, recorded by Barbra Streisand )
- What About Today ( Words and Music by Shire; title song by Barbra Streisand album )
- The Morning After ( Words and Music by Shire; recorded by Barbra Streisand )
- I'll Never Say Goodbye ( lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, recorded by Melissa Manchester )
- Autumn (Text Maltby; recorded by Barbra Streisand )
- It Goes Like It Goes ( text by Norman Gimbel; recorded by Jennifer Warndes )
- The Promise ( I'll Never Say Goodbye ) (Text with Marilyn and Alan Bergman, recorded by Melissa Manchester, Nancy Lamott )
- Coffee, Black (2006, text by Maltby, taken by John Pizzerelli )